The team at Arizona State University has been researching and developing non-linear, adaptive, and interactive experiences for education using a variety of 360° content for the past several years. During this talk at the IVRPA Tokyo 2018 conference by Geoffrey Bruce, the lead developer on the project, will discuss how the team has been developing, utilizing, and integrating 360° technology and panoramic imagery into adaptive learning and most recent gaming experiences for students. Additionally, he will discuss what they have been finding in their research, and how it suggests this adaptive exploration mechanism for teaching has a strong potential for shaping the way students learn more effectively in high schools and at the universities.

The team has been developing 360º experiences to enhance the educational content that explores scientifically significant remote locations throughout the world. These applications allow students to explore and study the origin, history, and structure of life on Earth and the planet itself. The team uses both hardware and software tools that capture high-resolution spherical content, 360° panoramic video, giga-pixel imagery, and unique viewpoints via unmanned aerial vehicles, to allow students to explore and learn about these remote and physically challenging regions of the planet from their classroom. The development and use of advanced software have enabled the integration of these data into dynamic, learner-driven virtual field explorations, which utilize adaptive feedback and adaptive pathways focused on the learning needs of the student. These environments can be utilized through traditional browsers, VR headsets, and most recently via a new solar-based technology allowing students access to various 360° experiences and data libraries in locations which don’t have electricity or Internet connectivity. The experiences the team has developed allows teachers and professors to not only give students the opportunities to explore these sites but also enhances their ability to give them full pedagogical control over their students learning experience. This is done by designing 360° content into intuitive learning courseware that can cater to the individual student's needs and personalize their learning, utilizing analytical data, based on the student's individual progression through the experience. This is all created and captured in their latest 360° environments. Aside from the university, the team also receives additional funding for the project from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, NASA, and the NSF.

Geoffrey Bruce is the Senior Exploration Software Architect for the School of Earth and Space Exploration and serves as leader of the Immersive Virtual Field Trips (iVFT) team at Arizona State University’s Education Through Exploration group. He holds a graduate degree in intuitive learning in immersive virtual environments and his PhD work focuses on exploration…